Archive for the ‘Lines of thought’ Category

G20: a photo essay

Britain was once famous for its unarmed and relatively restrained police force, but the death of a man at last week’s G20 protests in London has brought into focus serious concerns with a new aggressive form of policing. Former police chief Andy Hayman today warned that “If left unchecked, we have a more violent crowd in uniform than the one demonstrating.”

Metal Hammer editors provide you top 10 song lists on Valentines Day…….

India’s Shri Ram Sene, a right-wing Hindu group, is responsible for violent attacks on women who wear attire that they claim “violates Indian norms.” To counter the thuggery, Bangalore-based Alternative Law Forum (ALF) has launched a satirical campaign seen above, titled “A Consortium of Pubgoing Loose and Forward Women”. Found in Pink Panties to Counter Violence Against Women

It’s easy to see governments as nameless, faceless monoliths, something impersonal or, even worse, untrustworthy. Much of that is because government culture remains steeped in traditional ideas about public relations and outreach work, notions that have become archaic in an Internet-enabled, hyper-connected world. Just as private companies are learning to embrace social media to manage brand reputations, governments must adapt if they wish to effectively communicate with their "customers" — a.k.a. their citizens and stakeholders.

Designs for an Anthropology of the Contemporary

While I was busy and mostly stressed in the pre-defense days, I totally missed the release of this new book. I now have a signed copy from Prof. Faubion who kindly gave me as a gift after my defense:) I will be busy with revisions of my dissertation in the next days and maybe weeks, so I may only start reading it in the plane back to Istanbul…

Few of us are not entranced by tales of discovery. The magical feeling when something which previously existed but, but we were entirely unaware of, become known. Humanity is given a new consciousness that once we have gained seems impossible that we should ever lose it again. It’s easier to think about such discoveries in terms of natural science, such as the discovery of the atom or of penicillin. But we have been equally transformed over the last century by a series of discoveries in social science. It’s now hard to explain to people what it meant and what it was really like to live before feminism, that things that seem totally obvious afterwards, were previously simply not available to be thought about. In my memory the most profound, most long lasting, extraordinary and singular moment of discovery came when I was a student in anthropology at Cambridge. When Edmund Leach, who acted as John the Baptist, to this French Messiah, gave us a lecture about Levi-Strauss, and I knew, instantly, that I would never see the world again in the same way.